GOP has tough choice in 3rd Congressional District

David Levinsky @davidlevinsky

Friday

Nov 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2013 at 2:53 PM

Less than a month has elapsed since Congressman Jon Runyan’s surprise announcement that he would not seek re-election next year, but there’s no shortage of Republicans interested in running to replace him as the 3rd Congressional District’s representative.

Among the Republicans still believed to be in the running are two Burlington County names, Evesham Mayor Randy Brown and former Freeholder Bruce Garganio; at least three Ocean County people, Assemblyman David Wolfe, Toms River Councilman Maurice “Mo” Hill, and Berkeley Township Councilman James Byrnes; and even two would-be candidates who currently reside outside the district, Steve Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota and a recent U.S. Senate candidate, and Randolph Mayor Tom MacArthur.

The one thing missing from the field is a clear favorite, someone both the powerful Burlington County and Ocean County Republican organizations can easily unite behind as they try to keep the seat in their party’s hands.

The Democrats are targeting the district as a potential pickup in their goal of winning back majority control of the U.S. House, and appear to have already solidified party support behind Burlington County Freeholder Aimee Belgard of Edgewater Park, who officially entered the race Nov. 7.

Republican leaders hope to announce a preferred candidate in two or three weeks, Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton said.

“Myself and the Ocean County chairman (George Gilmore), we’ve been talking on almost a daily basis about finding the right candidate, and I doubt very seriously we won’t reach an agreement,” Layton said.

“Everyone realizes if we don’t come together and pick the right candidate, it’ll hurt our chances,” he said.

Agreeing on a candidate could be difficult, though. The district is made up of almost equal parts of Burlington and Ocean counties, and both GOP organizations are considered among the most powerful in the state.

Burlington County has history on its side. The district has been represented by a Burlington County Republican for more than a century, with the exception of 2009-10, when Democrat John Adler of Cherry Hill won the open seat after longtime Rep. Jim Saxton of Mount Holly retired.

Runyan won the seat back for the GOP in 2010 by beating Adler, who died in 2011. Runyan then successfully defended it in 2012 against Adler’s widow, Shelley.

Ocean County has never had one of its own represent the seat, even though it is arguably the stronger Republican territory. During this year’s gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie won 75 percent of Ocean County’s vote, compared with 62 percent in Burlington.

In its favor, the Burlington County Republican Committee is arguably the most prolific fundraiser in the state. According to the most recent campaign finance filings, the organization had raised $537,000 this year through Sept. 30, the most of any county political committee.

Over the same period, the Ocean County Republican Committee had raised $48,313.

Fundraising in the congressional race is considered key because the district is split between the expensive Philadelphia and New York television markets.

Making the selection more difficult is the fact that the most well-known politicians in both counties — state Sen. Diane Allen, R-7th of Edgewater Park, and Sen. Chris Connors, R-9th of Forked River — aren’t interested in leaving Trenton.

Allen and Connors would be considered huge favorites to win the open seat if they chose to run.

Among the remaining field, Lonegan is likely the most well-known, following his recent statewide campaign for U.S. Senate. Although he lost to Democrat Cory Booker in the October special election, the race was far from the blowout many political watchers expected, and Lonegan was credited with running a scrappy, aggressive campaign.

The major downside to Lonegan is that he lives in Bogota, a small town about 70 miles north of the 3rd District. Members of Congress are required to live in the state they represent but not the specific district, so Lonegan could legally run, as could MacArthur, but doing so might leave them vulnerable to criticism, particularly since the GOP used the same attack on Shelley Adler in 2012 after her hometown of Cherry Hill was moved out of the district.

Lonegan’s conservative political views and support for the unpopular partial government shutdown this fall may also hurt his chances.

Among the Burlington County candidates, Garganio’s union ties and experience in county government make him an attractive candidate. His biggest flaw may be that he’s coming off a loss in the 2012 freeholders race and one of the Democrats who beat him is none other than Belgard, his most likely opponent in a 3rd District race.

Brown is mayor of Burlington County’s most populous town and is also well-known from his side job as an NFL kicking coach. He was originally elected Evesham’s mayor in 2007 as a Democrat but later switched to the GOP.

Among the Ocean County candidates, Wolfe holds the highest office and is the only state lawmaker in the field, but Hill and Byrnes are elected officials in key towns. All three have little name recognition in Burlington County.

Layton declined to talk about any individual candidates, but noted that all the Republicans who have come forward have indicated they were interested in running with the support of party leaders and would step aside if the two county organizations decided on another choice.

That didn’t happen in 2008, when then-Medford Mayor Chris Myers and Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly battled for the GOP nomination in an ugly and expensive intra-county primary fight. Myers eventually won the primary, but the contest drained his campaign of funds needed for the general election, which he narrowly lost to John Adler.

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